Far from the overly optimistic speeches about the schooling of young girls that the current majority feeds us, the reality is there, bitter and not just in the Khénifra area. Indeed, the sad example is served to us from the capital of the Zayanes. And more precisely from the Tarik high school, where 112 boarding school girls decided to leave the boarding school and the establishment and return home, thus abandoning their studies. These young girls, all originating from the Douars, villages, and hamlets of the Khénifra province, took this painful decision because of the dilapidated conditions of the infrastructure of the said boarding school, which was renovated a few years ago and inaugurated during a Royal visit to the province.

And in such a short time, the dormitories, refectories, and sanitary facilities have turned into unliveable places. Power and water cuts are frequent, the waterproofing of the roofs and walls is defective, making the classrooms and dormitories unusable, especially during winter. If one adds to this the problem of sewers and pipes that are often blocked, one understands well why these young girls want to put an end to their academic journey.

Faced with this situation, the teachers at Tarik high school observed a strike yesterday, followed by a sit-in in front of the provincial headquarters. As for the officials, they have sparked a controversy over who is responsible for the maintenance of this boarding school, which was built thanks to funds from the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity. The provincial services claim that it is the National Education delegation that must assume its responsibilities in this regard, while the delegate maintains that the delegation never took delivery of this establishment and that it depends on the Ministry of the Interior.

This is all the officials could find as a solution to a problem that Morocco is trying to overcome, namely the schooling of our young girls.

Substantial funds have been allocated to this project at the INDH level and in various government programmes for years, but certain practices and the squandering of public funds are a brake on any progress in this direction.